Omnomnomnomnom! Cookies are good~
Sum.: Arthuretta Kirkland has always been a little bit of a rebel. And Francis Bonnefoy has always been the clear image of what she loathed. But after a rumor goes around that Francis is more bad than he appears, Arthuretta's eyes are opened to the fact that maybe, just maybe, Francis might not be such a goody-two-shoes after all.
Genre: Romance
Warnings: Rated T, cruel teenage girls, light use of the "French Cure," and some gen!flipping~
Read, mah minions! Enjoy~
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Chapter 4
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I moaned sleepily as the smells of melting chocolate wafted up to my bedroom.
So she meant it when she said she'd make chocolate pancakes. I bet Matthew's having an orgasm just watching her cook them.
I smiled slightly at the thought, then opened my eyes and yawned loudly, stretching as high as my hands could go.
I looked at the bag of chocolate and moaned. Looking at it now, I can understand why I almost threw up last night.
Warning of advice, attempting to eat an entire bag of chocolate so you don't have to deal with it does, in fact, result in an upset stomach.
And the sad part was, I hadn't even made a dent in it.
Maybe I just don't have a tolerance for sweets…
I padded barefoot to my closet and pawed through the clothes. I could wear more usual outfit. Or I could be at least a little better looking to eye and wear a yellow tank-top and jean shorts.
I slid the shorts on under my night shirt (which I quickly took off after I got the shorts on), and then held my hands against my sides and looked at my reflection in the full-size mirror that hung on the inside of my closet door.
My fingers were just a few millimeters too long, making the shorts against school policy. I smiled happily at the thought of the principal flipping out when he saw my outfit.
I pulled on the tank top and frowned as I noticed that it was too long to be mine. Must be Aunt Tori's, I mused silently as I took a hair tie and binded a small knot in the lower back of the shirt, making it more me-sized.
I ran my fingers through my hair, not really caring if it looked brushed or not, then I grabbed the new bag (now full of my normal school books) and purse (containing all thirty dollars I have left from the shopping trip, a few…female necessities, a few mechanical pencils, and a pack of gum), and ran downstairs.
I immediately claimed my seat and dropped my stuff onto the floor behind my chair and Aunt Tori cheerfully placed a stack of four large, syrup smothered pancakes. As if she was taunting me, she placed a strawberry on top of the pile and sprinkled confectioner's sugar all over the entire thing.
Matthew looked completely dejected as he compared his meager three pancakes. He pouted angrily. "Why does Arthuretta get more pancakes then me, eh? She doesn't even eat them—"
He shut up as soon as he saw that I had already finished off the first one.
How come I've never eaten pancakes before? They are good! I realized the fact that I rarely ate anything sweet was the reason I devoured them so quickly.
I finished the last pancake, Matthew flabbergasted into silence and Alfred just now coming down the stairs.
I popped the strawberry into my mouth after I yanked the greens off, and Alfred stared at me in shock.
"How many pancakes did she just eat?" Al asked.
"Four," Aunt Tori happily supplied as she laid two more on my plate and drizzled more syrup on the top, this time refraining from adding fruit and/or fluffy sugar.
I ate these slightly slower, and with less eagerness, as Matthew shook his head in shock and a plate of pancakes was placed in front of Alfred.
The two ate their pancakes silently as they watched me eat mine, as if I was some show on the tube.
I wiped my mouth with the supplied napkin and, as an afterthought, placed my plate and silverware into the sink.
Aunt Tori watched on with a secret smile as she began scrubbing at the skillet she used to cook the pancakes.
Alfred shook his head as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Why exactly is Arty suddenly eating like a pig? And dressing like she cares?"
I bared my teeth at him. "Shut up, Al!"
Matthew mumbled, "At least not all of her has changed."
Aunt Tori wiped her hands on her apron and smiled sweetly at the two. "Your cousin has decided to eat a little more so her ribs don't show anymore."
Al, being the idiotic git he is, rubbed at my rib cage. I slapped his hand away, but that didn't stop him from pursing his lips in thought. "Arty is really boney."
I glared at him and crossed my arms. "At least I'm not fat like you."
He looked like a crestfallen puppy. "I'm not fat…!"
I sneered at him, just as Aunt Tori snuck a look at his watch. "It's time for school, kiddos!" She ushered us out of the kitchen.
Again, she kissed the tops of their heads, receiving the same reactions was always. She eyed me warily. So I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her. "Thank you for your advice, Aunt Tori."
She smiled and kissed my cheek, then made a shooing motion with her hands. "Don't want to be late!" she called just as all of us piled into Matthew's car.
She waved, and this time I smiled slightly at her.
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I stood in front of my empty locker, wondering if I was willing to do a little school work. I sighed and placed the unnecessary books in my locker, leaving me with just a folder filled with sheet music and a binder marked "Choir."
I shut my locker door and made my way to class, not even bothering to hide in the bathroom for as long as possible.
I blushed as I realized I was first to get into the classroom, other than the teacher.
She glanced up at me and did a double-take. "O-Oh, Arthuretta, what a surprise to see you here so early…" she gasped. I frowned slightly but nodded my head and put my bag down in my usual corner.
One of the biggest rules at this school is no bags. However, since the choir classroom was outside the main building of the school, there was an exception. There was one wall completely dedicated to leaving our schoolbags at. Most of the time, the other girls managed time to go to their locker. But there were those few lazy ones (like me) who ate breakfast in the cafeteria (not like me) and didn't have time to make a trip to their lockers.
I pulled out my folder and binder and grabbed a pencil from my purse, then sat down at my assigned spot on the risers.
The first few classes of the day flew by without me really noticing, since I wasn't boredly ignoring the teachers. Soon it was lunch time and I frowned as I put my stuff back in my locker. I pondered what I was to do for lunch as I walked towards the courtyard and nearly fell face-first onto the floor when someone hug-attacked me from behind.
"You're dressing like a girl today, ve~!" Feliciana squealed. I blushed and pried her fingers off of me.
"Yes," I said hesitantly as she walked with me to the courtyard. She supplied a bag from McDonald's and grinned.
"I brought you lunch, ve!"
"How'd you find time for it?" I asked as I discovered the food was still warm.
She smiled. "Alfred has first lunch and I asked him to pick you up two more burgers."
I frowned. The food was probably poisoned, then.
As we settled at a sunny table under the lone tree that sat in the middle, she happily asked, "So what did you eat for breakfast, ve~?"
I pursed my lips to hold back from smiling in pride. "Six chocolates pancakes, suffocated in syrup."
I frowned as I realized my stomach was still full from that. "I might not be able to eat these—" I began to tell Feliciana. However, she gave me a look that didn't sit well with her usually smiling face.
"Eat it," she demanded. My eyes widened, but I nodded.
She smiled again happily and began eating the first container of pasta.
Ludwig again joined us to eat, again listening silently as Feliciana chattered, although I noticed he was looking at me questioningly as I began eating my food.
I held back from blushing. You're used to these stares by now, remember? I told myself.
"What the fuck happened to Arthuretta?" a loud feminine voice declared. I held back from hissing as I recognized it as Gillian.
I frowned and swallowed. "Whatever do you mean, twit?" I turned to her, a scowl on my face.
She grinned smugly at me. "You're eating. And I was so sure you were anorexic."
I blushed and glared at her.
Antonia happily sang, "That means you owe Francis twenty dollars~!"
Gillian wrinkled her nose. "If he ever gets out, that is," she mumbled.
Ludwig rolled his eyes. "You still haven't thanked me, East."
She grinned at him. "Why should I thank you when it's kind of your obligation?"
He narrowed his eyes at her but turned back to eating.
I turned to Feliciana. "What happened?" I asked when Gillian and Antonia left to go bother someone else.
Feliciana's lip trembled. "Gillian, Antonia, and Francis all got arrested for underage drinking last night. Ludwig bailed his sister out around two in the morning, and Fratello and I got Antonia out at about six today. No one is willing to pay the money for big brother Francis, though."
I blinked. "Why can't Gillian and Antonia just get one of his bloody fangirls to cough up the money?"
She pouted. "None of them are allowed to know."
I pursed my lips and stared at a wall in thought. "I suppose I could pay it, then."
She giggled behind her hand. "Is Francis the boy you meant when you said that you wanted a boyfriend?"
I burned bright red and glared at her. "If you want me to bail him out, you'll shut up now."
She shut her mouth and silently ate her pasta, a smile tugging at her lips.
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Al and Matthew did not react nicely when I told them after school that I was going to walk home.
"What are you doing, eh?" Matthew asked, worry furrowing his brow.
I rolled my eyes. "I have to meet up with a…friend." My lunch churned in my stomach as I said the word. Francis was most certainly not a friend.
Al snickered. "Don't have too much fun, now!"
I clenched my fists, holding back from punching him. "Shut up, you bloody wanker!:
He rolled his eyes but still grinned.
"Do you want us to take your bag home?" Matthew asked. I nodded and handed him the bag, but kept my purse in my hand.
"Um, Matthew, tell Aunt Tori I'll call her in about half an hour, okay?"
Matthew looked at me closely, but finally sighed and nodded. "Okay. Be safe, eh."
I nodded and waited until they were out of sight before hailing down a cab.
"To the nearest bank, please," I told the driver.
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After a quick detour to the bank (where I dipped into the account my mum set up for me when she first sent me to live with my cousins), I asked the driver to drive me to the police station. He smirked at me through the rearview mirror. "Boyfriend in jail or something?"
I growled at him, baring my teeth. "I'm not paying you to bloody talk to me, git."
He rolled his eyes but focused back on the road.
As soon as he dropped me off, I paid him the thirty dollars I had in my purse, leaving him with a five dollar tip. Just because he wouldn't expect me to leave him a tip at all.
I walked inside and stepped right up to the secretary. "I'm here with bail for a Mr. Francis Bonnefoy."
"Name?" she asked boredly, writing something on a log.
"Arthuretta Kirkland," I stated curtly as I snuck a peek at the page. Sure enough, Feliciana and Ludwig's names were there.
"Age?"
"16"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, you're not old enough—"
"I'm emancipated."
She raised an eyebrow and held her hand out for the papers for it. I ground my teeth but supplied them, thankful I always carried them with me. What is it with people and their distrust for kids who are emancipated?
After staring hard at them, she returned them to me.
"Driver's license, please."
I slid it out of my back pocket and handed it to her. She glanced at the image, then handed it back to me. "I'll need a signature and a phone number to contact you with in case he doesn't show up for trial."
I nodded, long since used to the routine. (Al accumulates quite a bit of tickets.) I signed my name and then quickly scrawled down the digits. She read it then nodded in approval and picked up a phone. "Officer Blackstock, a Ms. Kirkland is here to pick up the underage drinker."
She set it back down and gestured to the chairs in the waiting room. "Pick a seat, any seat," she dryly joked.
I rolled my eyes but sat down on the one closest to the door.
Just as I was about to pull out my iPod, I heard my name being called. I looked up to see a skinny officer, small for a man, looking me over with a hard gaze. I stood up and followed him as he returned through a door that led further back through the station.
"You look a little young to be old enough to bail someone," he noted in a gruff voice.
"I'm emancipated," I replied blandly.
He nodded, as if it made sense. We stopped in front of a steel door with a plastic, probably bullet-proof window.
He pulled a set of keys and quickly unlocked the door. "Someone's here to bail you out, boy."
Francis immediately looked up at me, a look of pure shock on his face. "Arthuretta?" he asked as the officer began unlocking his handcuffs.
I scowled at him. "You owe me, Francis."
He smiled sweetly at me. "Of course I do, ma cheri."
I rolled my eyes as the officer led us back to the front doors.
"And 'ow exactly did you find out zat I was 'ere?" he questioned, suspicion raising the French tones in his voice.
I realized that he probably told Gillian and Antonia not to tell me where he was. Damn git.
I glanced at him warily. "Why would it matter?"
He shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "My good-guy reputation would be ruined if the entire school found out where I was."
The officer snorted. "You've been here plenty of times. If it hasn't already been ruined, then my name is Roger."
A smirk tugged at Francis' lips. "Of course, Jerri."
The officer rolled his eyes and opened the front door for us. "Have a good day, ma'am," he said to me with a nod of his head.
I nodded back, then glared at Francis and punched him in the shoulder. "What would you have done if I hadn't bailed you out? That's bloody idiotic of you to just go around, telling Gillian and Antonia to not tell anyone where you were!"
He shrugged sadly. "But I would've stayed there until the trial date, non?" He then looked at me curious. "How did you find out?"
I glared at the ground as we began walking in the direction of our neighborhood. "Feliciana told me, after Gillian said something about you owing her ten dollars after you 'get out.'" I then glared at him. "What's this about you betting with her on whether or not I'm anorexic?"
He smiled sheepishly. "Ma ami Gillian was hard-set, saying you were starving yourself on purpose. I simply told her that I knew you were not. But then she told me to bet on it, so I did."
I pursed my lips, but said no more.
After a few moments of silence, he spoke up.
"So 'ow were you allowed to bail me?"
I shrugged. "I'm emancipated, and my mum set up an account for me so I had enough money to live off of until high school ended."
He pressed his lips into a line. "Why'd you do it?"
"What? Bail you out?" He nodded. I shrugged and looked up at the sky. "It'd make me feel guilty if I knew that I had the money but didn't bail you out."
A moment later, he pressed his lips against my cheek.
I immediately flinched away from him and blushed, rubbing at my cheek. "What the bloody fuck was that for?"
He grinned at me. "Merci, ma cheri. Je t'aime," he sang happily.
I rolled my eyes and rubbed at my cheek. If only I knew French…
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Awwwwwww~ I loved this chapter! ^^ Now, a quicky translation:
Je t'aime = I love you
Too bad she doesn't know he said that LOLZ
P.S. All of the clothes and shoes and accessories I mention in stories? Most to all of it is always things I have. The shirt? I own that. The shoes? Mine~ The bag and purse? Also mine! (Although my bag has yellow hearts, but I know that Wal-Mart has it in pink.)
Review! Hope y'all enjoyed! :)